


Snippets of Shipboard Life, Part 2

by mathPocalypse



Series: Military AU [5]
Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Military, Alternate Universe - Navy, Asian-American Character, Attempt at Humor, Fighter Pilots, Gen, How Do I Tag, I Can't Believe I Wrote This, Japanese-American Character, Mentioned Donald Trump, Mentioned Other K-pop Artist(s), North Korea, Slice of Life, War, Women in the Military
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:47:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28415628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mathPocalypse/pseuds/mathPocalypse
Summary: A couple short stories detailing the shipboard life of Mina, Sana and Momo. The first chapter takes place around 4 hours after "Operation Black Mamba".It's a slice of life story, but this is probably *the* most unconventional slice of life story you had ever seen in your life. 😎
Relationships: Hirai Momo & Minatozaki Sana & Myoui Mina
Series: Military AU [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2021653
Kudos: 2





	1. The Heads

**Author's Note:**

> This work is fictional. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination, or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental (and unfortunate).
> 
> This work is anything but a literacy masterpiece, and I must apologize in advance for my poor writing and grammatical mistakes I might made.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mina, Sana and Momo are sharing their shower thoughts, then a disaster strikes Sana.

03:30 am, Korea Standard Time 

Communal head 3-124-4-L of the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76)

As cool as it sounds to fly on an aircraft carrier, there are times that Mina is genuinely wishing she was assigned to a land-based “expeditionary” squadron instead - when she is not deployed on a carrier and living in the Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, she and Sana can at least have their own bathroom - “head” in Navy jargon - in the room they live in, but onboard a carrier, junior officers like her have to share the heads with dozens of other officers, as their stateroom only have enough space for a tiny sink. (To be fair, only the carrier’s captain and XO have their own heads, so she is not the only one who has to suffer.)

“Hey Minari, Satang, how’s your second flight op? Is it fun?” Momo asks the pair from another shower as she rinses.

“Even worse than our first. Other than dodging SAMs and AAAs, this time we were almost shot down by a MiG-29.” Squeezing her travel-size QV gentle wash, Mina answers the Supply Corps officer, “Thank god that missile malfunctioned.”

“Well, at least you two are fighting in the front lines and getting huge medals.” Momo says with envy, “I heard the CAG is giving you two a Silver Star.”

“He said he would _nominate_ us for a Silver Star - no guarantees. Hell, he even told us it would most likely be downgraded to another Distinguished Flying Cross.” Mina quickly corrects Momo. The LTJG has never been a glory-seeking officer, and she couldn’t care less about what medals she will get - if she gets a Silver Star, of course she’s happy with it; but if she can only get a DFC, then so be it.

“Yeah, right now I just want Kim IV to surrender ASAP, so we can all go home - _and why the fuck there’s no hot water all in a sudden?!_ ” Sana punches the nozzle in frustration while being sprayed with ice-cold water. After a seven hour combat mission, all she wants is a hot and relaxing shower before going to bed, but _apparently_ that is an unreasonable request.

“I guess even the ship doesn’t want to give you a hot shower!” Momo bursts into laughter. It’s true that nuclear-powered ships like Ronald Reagan will have a higher supply of hot water thanks to the nuclear reactors, but like a lot of things in the Navy, it is not guaranteed.

“Actually Momoring, that’s a good thing - if there’s no hot water, then there’s _zero_ incentive for her to stay there any longer than she must!” Mina also joins Momo and teases her EWO. It’s hardly a secret that Sana loves to take very long baths, but Mina will never forget that insane incident when they were still living at MCAS Iwakuni: after her EWO stayed inside the bathroom for two hours and she hasn't heard anything from inside, she decided to give it a check, only to find out it was locked; by the time Mina broke into the bathroom, her EWO was already lying unconscious on the floor. (When the squadron’s flight surgeon later asked Sana why on earth she ended up lying unconscious in a _bathroom_ , of all places, she said she had a very long bath, but when she was done and left the shower, she felt a bit dizzy and fainted.)

“Oh come on you two, that’s not funny!” Sana is not happy with the less-than-sympathetic responses from Momo and Mina, “Does yours still have hot water?”

“Don’t worry Satang, mine is still having hot water - for now.” Mina turns off the nozzle, puts on her towel and opens the shower certain, “And I’m done anyway, so feel free to try mine instead.”

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, posting this story on Sana's birthday (it's still Dec 29 at the Eastern provinces of Canada BTW) is not the best idea, but this is the only idea I had in my mind, so I wrote it down.
> 
> Anyway, Happy Sana Day!!! 🎊🎊🎉🎉🎂🎂


	2. Reading The News

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During lunch time, Mina, Sana and Momo are discussing various aspects of the war, from the more serious side to the more...... entertaining side of things, should I say. 😂

12:30 pm, Korea Standard Time

Wardroom One of the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76)

“How’s the war going Minari? Did Kim IV surrender?” Momo casually asks as she puts another spoonful of Japchae and white rice into her mouth. 

“Nah, she said she and her fellow North Koreans are going to fight to the last man against the goddamn American imperialists.” Reading The Korea Times on her iPad, Mina takes a quick slip of her iced Americano, “And that four MiG-29s pilots were all executed for cowardice and incompetence. Not exactly sure whether I should be happy or sad about this.” The LTJG admits she is a bit conflicted upon hearing the news - although she does feel bad for those four poor fellows to be executed due to circumstances beyond their control, the last thing she ever wants is to fight against them at Pyongyang airspace.

“Of course it’s the former. For us, it’s a good thing that she doesn’t realize she just executed four experienced pilots.” Majored in Political Science at the Naval Academy, Momo once read that Fatty Kim III executed his own uncle for “half-heartedly clapping” and moving a granite monument with the supreme leader's words on it to a shaded corner.  _ Like father, like daughter indeed. _ The Supply Corps officer thinks to herself.

“I have to agree. As much as I feel bad for them, I really don’t want to see them again on the next mission.” Sana brings out her iPhone and opens up LINE to see if her grandfather replied to her messages, which he did. “Anyway, my grandfather finally got the CEO of CJ Group on the phone, and he confirmed that the Korean members of IZ*ONE are also doing fine; some minor physical injuries, no signs of PTSD so far. Apparently they were all filming a variety show at somewhere else during the bombardment, so they were not completely inside the killzone -  _ what the fuck just happened?! _ ” 

Just as Mina takes another slip of her iced Americano and continues reading, she suddenly spits out her drink. Lucky to her, she still manages to put away her iPad before the launch and Momo is sitting opposite to Sana (who is sitting next to her), so she doesn’t end up spraying anyone or anything else with her drink. 

“What’s wrong with you, Minari? What the hell did you just read?” Both Sana and Momo ask the pilot simultaneously. Last time they checked, Mina doesn’t strike them as the type of people who would do something like that.

“Sorry folks, I just read something that is  _ truly spectacular _ .” Mina explains herself while grabbing some tissues to clean up the mess, “Still remember that obsessive-as-hell fan we met a year ago?”

“You mean that guy you punched right in the face when he made a scene onboard a plane and freaked Nayeon out? What happened to him?” Sana can’t understand how that guy can cause her pilot to spit out her drinks.

“According to The Korea Times, that idiot was making a scene at JYP Entertainment’s headquarters right when the bombardment started.” Mina tries her best to control her schadenfreude-induced laughter while scrolling down, “Before the security guards can even call the police, a shell hitted the building, and he was injured by the fall of several huge debris. Right now he is at ICU for severe concussion and bone fractures, and he still hasn't left the critical stage.”

“Wow, I can’t believe that goddamn idiot still has the courage to go after the girls.” She knows it’s not a nice thing to do, but Momo can’t help but to chuckle when she hears that. 

“Stupidity has no bounds, Momoring.” Sana quips, “Let’s hope that hospital stay will convince him to stop.”


	3. A Growler Pilot and Ace Combat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mina is playing Ace Combat 7 - the most entertaining and unrealistic combat flight simulator in history.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To those who never played Ace Combat before, this is what I mean when I say "the most entertaining and unrealistic combat flight simulator" 😝: https://youtu.be/mEayWUzg_6A

03:30 pm, Korea Standard Time

Ready room of the Electronic Attack Squadron 141, USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76)

Each squadron in the Carrier Air Wing Five will have its own ready room aboard the carrier, a place for all the officers to have briefings, writing reports and checking emails, socializing - or in Mina’s case, playing video games. Being the officer responsible for maintaining the ready room’s Xbox One, she has a very good reason to spend a lot of time on the console - after all,  _ someone _ has to test it from time to time. (Considering she already completed all her NCOs’ fitness reports and replied to every urgent email she received before she even turned on the console, Mina swears she will  _ definitely _ file a complaint to the Navy Inspector General if the squadron commander still has the insolence to whine about her playing too many video games.)

“Why the hell did you find Ace Combat attractive? I don’t know why, but it always reminded me of my damn job, even when I’m trying to relax and not think about it.” Sitting next to Mina, Sana pokes at the pilot after she finishes the last bit of paperwork. By the time she graduated from both the initial NFO training and EA-18G training, she can no longer enjoy playing Ace Combat - or any combat flight simulator games for that matter - because her mind  _ always _ associated them to her professional duties. She enjoys flying as much as Mina does, but she doesn’t want to think about it all the time either.

“I have no idea why it would trigger your bad memories, especially when it’s  _ nothing _ like what we’re doing in real life.” Still concentrating on the squadron’s 40-inch television, Mina answers her EWO without moving an inch, “In Ace Combat, I can respawn if I got shot down, I can fly planes that I’ll never have the chance to fly in real life, I can do maneuvers that I’ll be court-martialed for doing so in real life, and I don’t need to respect the laws of physics. So what‘s not to like?” As counterintuitive as it sounds, Mina actually enjoys playing Ace Combat as a pilot  _ because it is horribly unrealistic _ . Contrary to her EWO, she comes to appreciate Ace Combat  _ after _ she graduated from both the initial Naval Aviator training and EA-18G training - at least the SAM sites, AA cannons and enemy fighters in Ace Combat 7 are nowhere as lethal as the ones in real life, not to mention the whole Lighthouse War is way more logical and plausible than the one she’s fighting right now, now officially known as “Operation Downfall”. (Despite Mina finding the name extremely uncreative, she admits it’s much better than the name originally proposed by Donald Trump, “Operation Korean Freedom”.) 

“Fair point, but every time I tried playing Ace Combat, I just couldn't get my job out of my head.” Putting the government-issued Dell rugged laptop aside, an idea comes to the EWO’s mind, “Hey Minari, how long till this level ends? I want to play COD Black Ops Cold War.” By spending a lot of time with her pilot and her squadron-mates, Sana also ends up enjoying playing first-person shooters; unlike combat flight simulator games, since she is not trained as an infantry or special warfare officer, her mind simply doesn't associate them to her professional duties.

“Okay, it ends now. I’ll get the package for you - just got the damn game a couple hours ago.” Upon seeing the word “Mission Accomplished” on the TV, Mina drops the controller and vacates the seat. Other than making sure the console is alive and well, it’s also Mina’s job to get new games for her squadron-mates (using a Navy credit card of course); she pre-ordered the game back at August due to popular demand, and the package was supposedly be shipped to Ronald Reagan a week ago, yet the Carrier Onboard Delivery (COD) detachment decided to prioritize the delivery of spare parts over mail items after the war started, so the squadron didn’t receive the game until today.

“Next time you should list those games as urgent cargo Minari - they’re great morale boosters, you know.” Sana half-jokingly suggests as she takes the seat and grabs the controller.

“Only if the CAG and squadron commander won’t stab me for doing that.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally I wanted to wrote an additional chapter, but unfortunately, I ran out of ideas. 😭


End file.
